Without them there would have been no doctor on duty in the Emergency Ward on what turned out to be a very busy weekend.

Glenda Adams

Thora

In the letter 'Country Bumpkin Educated Ecologist' (Courier-Sun, Feb 12) the clear insinuation that the former is inferior to the latter is just a little demeaning. So many highly skilled out there left school at 15 or under and have made a major contribution.

These days it's preschool at three, higher school certificate at 17 or 18, often a year off to travel before university, making them 22 to 25 before leaving school.

Many of our highly skilled operate in a narrow field and outside that often are totally inadequate. A friend of mine in Sydney had a neighbour, a highly regarded orthopedic surgeon, who received a very basic wooden packaged barbecue setting for Christmas and was struggling to bolt it together, claiming he was hopeless working with wood.

Excluding this old bumpkin, most farmers, tradies etc are multi skilled but without that piece of paper are categorised by some as a lesser individual.

As for that claim that farmers are the most subsidised section in our community, that really got the old blood boiling. Aussie farmers are the least subsidised on the planet. If it was a subsidy, I can only recall the fuel rebate for on farm use.

A tonne of wheat in 1970 cost less than a $100, today it's $300; a cow was $200 in 1970, the same cow today on record prices $1200. Yet wages and most farm inputs have risen by 20 times. Some more, some less.

But for tops be reminded that the farm outside the residence is classified as an asset for the aged pension, as opposed to the ever escalating value of the home in suburbia. How many aged farmers surviving on less than the pension are still working and producing a product, be it a loss on their million dollar holding, when many of their counterparts in suburbia can have a multi multi million dollar residence - could be a 100 million and still receive the full aged pension and live the life of Riley, by drawing down on the value of their home via a reverse mortgage. That option is is not available to that subsidised old cow cocky.

Then there's the other claim that Darcey only sees a forest as trees to be cut down for wood and to be cleared for growing food.

Yet many of these folks who throw stones live in a wooden house, on a parcel of land that was once beautiful virgin forest, and burn wood for heating in the winter. My guess is like everyone else they also eat food.

Get real you hypocrites. My love for the bush and every native creature out there could not be surpassed. On my limited travels, I always bypass the developed world and those teeming masses to seek out the few remaining untouched areas.

Darcey Browning

Thora

In the national press there are periodic articles engendering a fear and distrust of China. I checked the number of wars China has started compared to the USA. China nil and the US seems to be still at it. George started three on his own. The Howard government spent $260 billion on the Iraqi war and what do we have to show for that? It would be a tragedy, an absolute disaster if the one and only nuclear bomb shelter in Australia copped a direct hit with a French bomb manufactured from Aussie uranium.

Allan Green

Mylestom

Not one person who opposes the concrete pathway slated to cut through the riverbank at Mylestom does so on the grounds of discrimination or a lack of empathy for those with a disability or mobility issue - to suggest otherwise is an attempt to co-opt and limit the discussion to a single issue.

It is well understood that disability access is an important element in creating a safe and harmonious community, but it is not the only element, so please be open minded and take a look at the bigger picture. It is the LOCATION of the proposed pathway that beggars belief and fuels community opposition. Why not put the path elsewhere?

If, as stated, the purpose of said path is to provide a safe walking surface and connection to park and post office - why does it have to be constructed on the most valuable, natural community asset in the village. The riverbank can not be relocated, but the pathway can.

Community members have offered suggestions for alternative path locations via Create website, and Option 3 in the council report suggested a pathway alongside road - WHY was this not even discussed at council meeting?

In March 2019 BSC declared a Climate Emergency. Here is an opportunity for council to put words into action. Respect and protect the natural environment, ecosystem, habitat and amenity of the riverbank at Mylestom. Put the access path elsewhere and create a positive outcome for the whole community.

Lizzy Wilkins

Mylestom